


The Spirit of '76

by AXEe



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015), The Bionic Woman (1976), Wonder Woman (1976)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Astra (Supergirl TV 2015) Lives, F/F, Gen, Implied/Referenced Karaolsen, Nerd Alert, Protective Astra (Supergirl TV 2015)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2019-11-05 06:29:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 15,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17913587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AXEe/pseuds/AXEe
Summary: When an alien threat that once menaced the planet decades ago returns, Alex and Astra will have to team up with a pair of retired government agents who were both 'super women' in their own right...





	1. Dossier

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I am a nerd :=). This largely popped into my head after I heard about the _Wonder Woman '77 Meets The Bionic Woman_ crossover by DC (no spoilers! I haven't read it yet!) as well as catching an episode of _The Bionic Woman_ a few days ago, as well as a bit of crush on both Lynda Carter and Lindsey Wagner (if, by some miracle, they're both reading this (HA! I laugh!) I wish them well :=).
> 
> Anyways, please enjoy! :=)

******

The following information is classified **TOP SECRET** under the National Security and Defense Act of 1976. **Any attempts to copy or remove this file from approved government facilities will result in arrest and imprisonment.**

 **Office of Scientific Intelligence (OSI):** Branch of the United States Department of State.  
**Mandate:** The procurement and protection of new technologies deemed vital to the continued safety of national security. Subdivisions include: **Project Cyborg** , top secret bionics implants research division.

 **Current status of OSI:** Suspended following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the USSR, later shut down.

 **High-profile OSI operatives:**  
Steve Austin (Colonel, USAF, retired, current whereabouts unknown)  
Jaime Somers (schoolteacher, civilian operative for OSI Project Cyborg, last known whereabouts: Ojai, California)

 **Inter-Agency Defense Command (IADC):** Branch of United States Department of Defense.  
**Mandate:** Coordinated joint efforts between FBI and other federal agencies to ensure fluid and streamlined national defense efforts.

 **Current status of IADC:** Suspended following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the USSR, later shut down.

 **High-profile IADC operatives:**  
Steve Trevor Jr. (retired)  
Diana Prince (last known whereabouts: San Francisco, California)

 **Update:** Following the discovery of the extraterrestrial known publicly as ‘Superman’ elements of both OSI and IADC functions were incorporated into the newly formed ‘Department of Extra-normal Operations’ per Extraterrestrial Defense Act of 2003.

**File ends…**


	2. Arrivals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Chapter TWO! Enjoy! :=)

******

**D.E.O. training camp  
1300 hrs**

The expansive desert that surrounded National City was nothing more that a burning wasteland of sand and rocks. Despite extensive mining efforts in the late-19th century and early-20th century there were little value in the surrounding foothills and mountains, a few veins of silver and gold had been found at the turn of the 20th century, which had been used to start the building of what would become National City, but aside from that the hills and mountains were as barren as the surrounding sands, with most of National City’s initial wealth coming from real estate, with large plots of land being sold in the post-World War II economic boom to the scores of returning GIs and their growing families.

Which made it the perfect place for the U.S. government to set up shop.

With a thundering _boom_ a humanoid figure in black suddenly rocketed across the empty blue sky, being rapidly pursued by another humanoid figure in blue and red.

“Easy, Astra,” Alex warned as she studied the radar screen “remember we’re not testing your speed here” she added.

Several hundred feet above the training camp, Astra grinned.

“I thought the point of this whole endeavor was _avoid_ being caught” she chuckled as she swooped and dodged Kara’s attempt to grab her, earning a annoyed whine.

“Alex! Tell Aunt Astra to play fair!” she complained over the comm.

Alex chuckled.

“Sorry, sis” she grinned. She looked up at Lucy and nodded, Lucy in turn signaled to the agents manning the missile controls.

“Fire!” Lucy ordered.

With a series of high-pitched whistles, four missiles were suddenly launched, quickly streaking across the sky towards the two Kryptonians.

“Incoming guys,” Alex warned as one missile detonated just a few feet below the two aliens “stay sharp,”

Barrel rolling, Astra twisted onto her back, firing off a blast of heat vision, destroying one missile with ease, but when she tried to repeat the process with the second and third missiles her heat vision hit some kind of blue translucent oval ‘bubble’ surrounding the weapons.

Rearing back in surprise, she scowled as J’onn chuckled in her earpiece.

“ _I believe Agent Danvers said to ‘stay sharp’, General,_ ” he reminded her “ _a little bit of alien tech reverse-engineered by our boys over at Area 51,_ ” he explained “ _so, let’s see how valid all your claims of superior training are_ ” he added.

Scowling, Astra swooped left and right, struggling to avoid the rapidly-closing missiles, while Kara was in a similar predicament. Shooting straight up, Astra’s scowl deepened as the missiles easily followed her. Suddenly, when they were both less than a foot away from her feet they both suddenly split in half, a swarm of golf ball-sized spheres suddenly surging out the two missiles’ bodies to surround her, beams of light passing from one sphere to another to form a ‘net’ of sorts around her.

As it suddenly tightened around her, Astra grunted as her flight power suddenly seemed to leave her, and wriggling against the surprisingly tangible web of energy, she suddenly plummeted to the earth, landing in a massive explosion of dirt and rocks.

Groaning, she kicked at the netting as it vanished, the spheres clattering to the bottom of the crater around her. Wincing, she looked around, suddenly gasping as Kara, wrapped in an identical energy netting, suddenly came plummeting straight towards her, crashing into her.

Blinking as the dust settled, Astra groaned at the sudden weight pressing down at her.

“Get…off…me!” she groaned, pushing against Kara.

“ _Owwww…!_ ” Kara groaned, weakly rolling over as a small fleet of humvees pulled over.

Weakly twisting her head, Astra squinted as J’onn stood over her, hands on his hips.

“Well…,” he began “so much for ‘superior training’.”

******

**D.E.O. headquarters, infirmary  
1330 hrs**

“That was _not_ funny, Alex” Kara pouted from the sunbed.

“It was…kinda funny” Alex grinned, her grin quickly vanishing at the twin glares from the two Kryptonians.

“Agent Danvers”

Turning in her chair, Alex blinked in surprise at the newcomer.

“General Lane” she indentified as General Sam Lane entered the room, followed by a small troop of soldiers and J’onn.

“General Lane’s here to assess Astra’s training” J’onn explained.

“So far, I have yet to be impressed,” General Lane drawled “and despite your objections, Agent Danvers, I still think that it would be best if General Astra was remanded to my custody” he added.

J’onn cleared his throat.

“Need I remind you, General, that General Astra _willingly_ surrendered herself to _our_ custody?” he remarked “and that without her assistance we would have never been able to figure out what the Fort Rozz escapees were planning? Or how to stop them?” he added.

Lane scowled.

“Be that as it may, Director Henshaw, I still don’t like the idea of giving a former hostile full access to one of the country’s most secure facilities,” he commented “and need I remind _you_ , Director, that the Fort Rozz prisoners were formerly led _by_ General Astra herself?” he glowered at Astra “I still maintain that her sudden altruism may be nothing more than a clever ruse” he added.

“Your objections have been noted, General,” J’onn commented “but, President Marsden feels differently, as do most of the Joint Chiefs of Staff”

A light knock on the door stopped the argument. Turning, the group frowned as Winn cautiously poked his head inside.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he began “but, uh, I think you should all see this”

******

The control room was abuzz with agents as the group entered.

“Report” J’onn barked out.

“Unidentified assault on Area 51,” Susan Vasquez spoke up “possibly alien in origin”

“Any satellite images?” Alex wondered.

“Just this,” Winn pulled up a grainy, blurry image of what was definitely an alien symbol seemingly burned or etched into the sands surrounding Area 51 “no matches yet with anything in our database,” he explained just as the computer chirped “oh, wait, hang on, never mind, got it,” he pulled up a file “huh?”

The file now being displayed on the screen was very sparse. It contained an image of the same symbol, followed by a few lines of text.

“First encountered in…1976,” Alex read “species name unknown. Highly hostile. Responsible for the deaths of all twenty-three residents in…Norris, California…,” she trailed off, frowning “I don’t get it, what’s this mean: ‘see OSI-IADC File H432’?”

“Office of Scientific Intelligence,” General Lane spoke up “it was an old Cold War-era branch of the government” he explained.

“OK, but what’s…‘IADC’?” Lucy wondered.

“Inter-Agency Defense Command,” J’on explained “both the OSI and IADC were indirect precursors to the DEO”

“Well is anyone from them still around?” Winn wondered “because I can’t seem to find ‘OSI-IADC File H432’.”

“Most of the old OSI-IADC files were shredded after the Cold War ended,” J’on explained. He frowned “but…there might be some agents who are still around. Agent Schott, which agents are listed in relation to the incident in Norris, California?”

“Uh…only two,” Winn answered “an…Agent Diana Prince and an Agent Jaime Somers” he read.

“Their locations?” J’onn asked.

“Uh, according to this, Jaime Somers lives in Ojai, and Diana Prince in San Francisco” Winn explained.

J’onn nodded slowly.

“Right, Agent Danvers find Agent Somers, take Astra with you,” he ordered “Agent Lane, you and Agent Schott try and find Agent Prince”


	3. White Picket Fences and Green Lawns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter THREE! Enjoy! :=)

******

**Ojai, California**

Ojai, California was a sleepy little hamlet, Alex thought as she drove the car down the highway. Besides her, flipping through what little files they could find relating the OSI, Astra looked rather striking with the way the sunlight captured her hair, highlighting the streak of white in her hair as the wind from the open window rustled her hair as she leaned on her elbow on the door.

Tightening her hands on the wheel, Alex violently stamped down the urge to reach out and tangle her fingers in that curtain of dark hair.

 _‘Knock it off, Danvers,’_ she told herself with a shake of her head _‘focus on the job, right now Astra is just another trainee’_ she reminded herself, unaware that Astra was watching her out of the corner of one eye, her own thoughts mirroring Alex’s, finding herself mesmerized by the way the sunlight caught the red-brown highlights in Alex’s hair.

Noticing how Alex’s hands flexed on the steering wheel, Astra repressed a shiver of desire as she wondered, not for the first time, what those hands would feel like against her skin. Would Alex be gentle in her caresses? Or would she be demanding? Roughly taking what she desired from Astra?

Swallowing against a suddenly dry throat, Astra pushed those thoughts aside as they entered Ojai proper, passing a marker on the side of the road, which proudly proclaimed:

Welcome  
To  
OJAI  
Home of  
American Astronaut  
STEVEN AUSTIN

“Hmm, curious” Astra remarked suddenly.

“What is?” Alex wondered.

Astra nodded towards the marker in question as they passed by it.

“Colonel Steven ‘Steve’ Austin, he’s listed here as an OSI agent,” she explained “as well as being a recipient of ‘Project Cyborg’.”

“What’s that?” Alex asked.

“I’m not sure,” Astra flipped through the remarkably thin file “most of the information relating to it has been redacted to the point of being useless” she tossed the folder away in the backseat with a disgusted scowl.

“Anything in there about Jaime Sommers?” Alex wondered.

“Um…,” Astra flipped through the second folder “hmm…it says here that she’s a former tennis champion. She competed at Wimbledon and the US Open…but was nearly killed during a skydiving accident,” she turned the page “that’s all there is” she announced.

“That’s it?” Alex exclaimed.

“That’s it,” Astra nodded “it does, however, list an address for Jaime Sommers” she added with a smirk.

Alex smirked in reply.

“That’s always good” she chuckled…

******

Pulling the car to the side of the road, Alex pulled out her phone, scowling at the screen as the GPS kept cutting out.

“The wonders of modern technology” she muttered sarcastically as Astra opened the glove compartment and pulled out an old-fashioned, honest-to-god map and unfolded it, quickly tapping her finger down on the map.

“Ms. Somers’ address” she announced.

“What you’d do? Pack a map of Ventura County?” Alex exclaimed.

“Yes”

“Of course you did” Alex muttered…

******

Jaime Sommers lived in a small, single story, craftsman-style house with a nice lawn, a compact, economy car neatly parked in the driveway, and a mailbox with 'SOMMERS written on it in neat and tidy letters.

“All that’s missing is the white picket fence” Alex muttered.

“Pardon?” Astra stared at her in obvious confusion.

Alex shook her head.

“Never mind” she dismissed as they walked up to the door and lightly knocked. A few seconds later the door swing open, revealing a middle-aged blonde woman wearing a sunhat and a pair of gardening gloves.

“Yes?” she asked.

“Jaime Sommers?” Alex asked.

“Yes,” the woman nodded “can I help you?”

“We’re here about your work with the OSI,” Astra explained “in particular an incident that happened in 1976 in Norris, California” she added.

Jaime Sommers sighed heavily and then held the door open wider.

“Come inside” she invited.

As Alex and Astra stepped inside, Astra paused, glancing up at what appeared to be a lineman repairing the telephone wires. Frowning, she made a careful mental note of him before she stepped inside.

Up on said telephone pole, the lineman pulled a compact radio from his waist.

“They’ve seen me” he reported.

“ _Understood,_ ” a voice replied “ _have they made contact with the Sommers woman?_ ”

“Yes” the man replied.

“ _Good, keep an eye on them_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: In the novel _Cyborg_ by Martin Calder (upon which _The Six Million Dollar Man_ and--by extension-- _The Bionic Woman_ were based, Steve Austin was said to have been one of the astronauts to set foot on the moon, which would mean that he flew on Apollo 17


	4. A Wonder for the Ages, Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter FOUR! Enjoy! :=)

******

“You think the DEO could at least spring for first-class seats,” Winn grumbled “business even”

“You going to whine like this all the way to San Francisco?” Lucy wondered “look at it this way, at least _you_ got the aisle seat,” she grunted as the person in front of her suddenly put their seat back, neatly squishing her in her own seat.

She glanced at Winn.

“See what I mean?”

******

**Apartment of Kara Danvers**

The pile of yellowed and brittle newspapers hit the desk with a rustle and a small cloud of dust, causing Kara and James to cough and wrinkle their noses.

“OK,” James waved the dust away “this is every article I could find in the _Tribune’s_ archives about Diana Prince” he explained

“Dusty,” Kara commented as they flipped through the papers “not much in here” she commented.

“No,” James agreed “most of these stories are just links to the list of names you got for the DEO,” he explained. He frowned “now…wait a minute,” he glanced at the list of names Kara had given him “here’s something,” he announced “Steve Trevor Jr.” he tapped the name and then held out one newspaper to Kara.

“ _‘Government agent Steve Trevor Jr. and mysterious WW2 super-heroine Wonder Wonder’_ ,” Kara read “Wonder Woman,” she frowned “why do I know that name?” she wondered.

“She was one of the first superheroes,” James explained “actually, she was _the_ first superhero,” he added. He pulled his laptop over and pulled up an article “here you go” he turned the laptop towards Kara,

“ _‘Wonder Woman first appeared during the Second World War’_ ,” she read “ _‘she first appeared in early-1942. Blessed with seemingly superhuman powers and claiming to be one of the mythical Amazons she was instrumental in leading the Allies to victory, whereupon she disappeared. Thirty-five years later, in 1976, she reappeared, this time linked with Cold War-era U.S. government agency ‘Inter-Agency Defense Command’. Wonder Woman was last seen in Los Angles in September of 1979 before she disappeared from public eye once again’_ ,”

Kara leaned back,

“Wow,” she breathed “how come I’ve never heard of her before?” she wondered.

James shrugged.

“Seeing is believing,” he dismissed “once she disappeared, people started to dismiss the stories as misunderstandings, propaganda, drug trips. It wasn’t until your cousin showed up that people started to believe in the impossible again” he explained.

“I’m ‘impossible’, huh?” Kara teased.

“Impossibly beautiful anyway” he replied.

They both frowned.

“That was cheesy,” Kara declared “sweet. But cheesy”

“No,” James chuckled “it was _true_ but cheesy”

“OK, _that_ was even cheesier!” Kara laughed…

******

**Residence of Jaime Sommers**

The interior of the house was neat and tidy. The furnishings were plain and simple yet cozy looking, there was a gentle, soothing quality to the place, the loveseat that Alex and Astra were both sitting in was plush and comfortable; Alex was certain that a few moments longer and she might just doze off (of course that might just be because being so physically close to Astra).

Ice clinking in glass, Jaime Sommers handed each woman a tall glass of lemonade before sitting down across from them. The years had been kind to her; despite being sixty-seven she bore a youthful appearance and bearing; she was someone who enjoyed life and all it had to offer.

“So,” she began “you want to know about my work with the OSI”

“That’s about it” Alex nodded.

Jaime sighed.

“Not much I can tell you,” she admitted “most of it is still classified I imagine”

“We have clearance,” Astra explained, absently taking a sip of her lemonade “so, the incident in Norris, California?” she invited.

Jaime sighed again, her gaze becoming distant.

“I got the call from Oscar” she began.

“That’s Oscar Goldman, right?” Alex asked “the head of the OSI at the time?”

“That’s right,” Jaime nodded “anyway, according to Oscar all twenty-three people in Norris had been found dead, no obvious cause. When a hazmat team went in to find out why, they didn’t report back, so Oscar sent me in,” she took a breath “the way those people died…,” she trailed off, looking disturbed “it was like someone was…studying them, like they’d been…dissected,” she explained with a visible shudder. Shaking her head, she continued “we weren’t sure _who_ was responsible, so the government sent in another agent to assist me”

“Diana Prince” Alex guessed.

Jaime nodded.

“That’s right,” she confirmed “nice woman, quiet. Anyway, we found this…symbol etched into a field” she explained.

“This symbol?” Astra asked, holding out a printout of the symbol from the DEO’s files.

“That’s it,” Jaime nodded “it was strange, according to the experts that Oscar sent in it had been burned into the field from _beneath_ the surface,” she explained “which is impossible, of course,” she frowned “well…that’s what I thought at the time anyway. Of course ‘impossible’ went out the window once Superman showed up” she chuckled.

“Did you ever see anything else…strange?” Alex asked hesitantly “anything…alien?” she added.

“You mean like a flying saucer?” Jaime chuckled “actually, yes, we did,” she nodded. She reached over and pulled a yellow notepad over and a pen “it looked a little something like this,” she drew a rough sketch on the pad “but, we only saw it from a distance” she added.

“What about the occupants?” Astra asked “did you see any sign of them?”

Jaime shook her head.

“No, nothing just the saucer and the symbol” she explained.

Alex glanced down at her pad and nodded.

“Well, I think that’s it,” she confirmed, standing up “if we need anything—” she stopped as Astra suddenly held up a hand “what is it?” Alex asked as Astra peered turned towards a window, frowning as she took a step forward, suddenly gasping.

“Alex! Get down!” turning, she threw Alex towards Jaime, throwing both women to the floor as the window suddenly exploded in a shower of glass, a hailstorm of bullets suddenly peppering the walls and floor.

“What the hell?!” Alex exclaimed as Astra rolled off her, letting out an almost-animalistic _growl_ as a trio of masked figures kicked down the door, Astra rolled off Alex and Jaime and moved to stand up, only to duck as the trio opened fire, bright bolts of green light whistling past the three women.

“Fuck! They have kryptonite!” Alex realized. She looked towards Jaime “is there a back way out of here?” she demanded over the roar of machine gun fire.

“Through the kitchen!” Jaime called, rapidly getting to her own feet as the three assailants suddenly surrounded them. Glancing at Alex and Astra, Jaime tucked her left arm against her side.

“Do you trust me?” she asked quietly.

“That’s supposed to my line” Alex chuckled,

“Quiet!” one masked figure barked out.

With a slight grunt of effort, Jaime thrust her right arm out, hitting one masked figure square in the chest with the flat of her. With a startled and pained yell, the figure suddenly went flying across the room. As his comrades tried to recover from this surprising turn of events, Astra exhaled a gust of freeze breath, the icy blast hurtling the other two assailants away.

“Come on!” Alex called, drawing her gun and ushering the other two out the back, through a lush garden and over a fence, past a swimming pool (and a startled family of four) and, finally, down a embankment to the highway.

“Down! Down!” Alex hissed, the three of them hunkering down amid the tall grasses by the side of the road. She glanced at Jaime, confused.

“How’d you do that?” she asked.

Jaime smirked.

“Trade secret” she grinned.

Astra frowned, squinting at Jaime.

“Project Cyborg,” she realized, looking Jaime over “both of your legs, your right arm, and portions on your ribcage have been replaced with cybernetic implants”

Jaime smirked.

“I guess you two _do_ have clearance,” she chuckled. She glanced at Astra “you’re Kryptonian, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Yes, I am,” Astra nodded. She glanced at Alex “what’s the plan now, Agent?” she asked with a distinct hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Alex scowled.

“Just fly us out of here,” she grumbled “and let’s hope that Lucy and Winn are having better luck” she added…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jaime Sommers is said to have been born in 1948, which would make the character 67 by the time _Supergirl's_ first season premiered (2015), in actually, Lindsay Wagner is a year older than her character :=). As for James' comment about Wonder Woman being one of the first superheroes, well If you consider the character's appearance during World War II and that in Supergirl canon that Superman appeared sometime in 2003 then Wonder Woman would be the world's first superhero :=). Ha! I am woman hear me roar!!! :=)


	5. A Wonder for the Ages, Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter FIVE! Enjoy! :=)

******

**D.E.O. headquarters**

The DEO was abuzz with its usual hustle and bustle of activity when Astra landed with her two companions in tow.

“Whew!” Jaime exclaimed “that was…interesting” she chuckled in a tone that indicated that she thought the exact opposite.

“Sorry,” Alex apologized as they signed in and were led into Command “guess I should have mentioned that she’s a fast flyer” she added as J’onn approached them.

“Agent Danvers, General,” he greeted “and you must be Jaime Sommers”

“That’s me” Jaime nodded.

“Director Hank Henshaw,” J’onn replied as they shook hands “I’m sorry that we have to meet under these circumstances,” he apologized “our original intent was simply to ask you about the incident in Norris” he explained.

“No need to apologize, Director,” Jaime dismissed evenly “so, who were the people with machine guns anyway?” she wondered.

“We think that they’re part of a group called ‘Cadmus’,” Alex explained “they’re a former branch of the government originally created to study alien lifeforms but somewhere along the way they went rouge,” she glanced at J’onn “any word from Lucy or Winn?” she wondered.

“They just landed in San Francisco,” J’onn replied “I’ve already contacted our field offices there to be on alert, considering what just happened, it stands to reason that Cadmus might try again”

“But why attack in the first place?” Astra wondered, frowning “by eliminating both Jaime Sommers and Diana Prince, they’re removing two critical sources of information that could help us defeat this threat,” she pointed out “it doesn’t make sense”

“Just more questions in a very long list of them, General,” J’onn sighed “for now, why don’t you and Agent Danvers escort Ms. Sommers to the infirmary for a check-up?” he suggested…

******

**San Francisco, California**

Winn maneuvered the car down San Francisco’s famous—or infamous, depending on your view—hills, absently glancing towards Lucy as he did.

Frowning, Lucy looked back.

“You OK?” she asked.

He shrugged noncommittally.

“Yeah,” he dismissed. He frowned “no, actually,” he corrected himself “listen, I was wondering…” he began hesitantly.

“Yeah…?” Lucy invited.

“Well…,” Winn began as he pulled to a stop at a red light “I was wondering, if you don’t mind that is, but…”

“But…?” Lucy nodding encouragingly.

“Wouldyouliketohavedinnerwithmesometime?” Winn asked in a rush, turning bright red.

Lucy frowned.

“You mean like on a…date?” she asked carefully.

“No, no, you’re right, you’re right, forget I said anything,” Winn suddenly exclaimed “office romances, always a bad idea, you know? And I _should_ know, I mean, hello, I _am_ the idiot who dated the ex-personal assistant of Cat Grant who tried to _kill_ Cat Grant, and then I—”

“Winn, Winn!” Lucy clapped a hand over his mouth “relax,” she soothed, pulling her hand away “I didn’t say ‘no’.” she reminded him

“Soo…that’s…a ‘yes’?” Winn asked hesitantly.

Lucy smiled and nodded.

“That’s a ‘yes’,” she confirmed with a grin “now, come on, the light’s green” she pointed.

“Oh,” Winn blinked “right”

******

**Gateway Museum**

The Gateway Museum was a medium-sized museum located in San Francisco’s Financial District. Diana Prince was listed as working as a docent there.

Stepping inside, Winn and Lucy looked around.

“Nice” Winn nodded.

“Hmm,” Lucy nodded as they approached the front desk “hi, we’re looking for a Diana Prince?”

The security guard nodded as he made a note on a pad.

“And who are you?” he asked.

“Federal agents” Lucy replied, holding up her false FBI badge.

The guard picked up the phone and spoke into it for a moment before nodding.

“Take a seat folks,” he invited “she’ll be right down”

Finding that there were no seats to be found, Winn and Lucy aimlessly wandered around the exhibits for a few minutes until the quiet click of high heels on the title floor caught their attention.

“I hear that you’re looking for me?” the owner of said high heels asked as she approached.

“Diana Prince?” Lucy asked.

The other woman nodded as she and Lucy shook hands.

“I am,” she confirmed “how can I help you?”

“We’re here about an incident you investigated in 1976 when you were working for the government” Lucy explained.

“I’m afraid that you’ll have to be more specific,” Diana chuckled “I investigated a _lot_ of ‘incidents’ for the government”

“We’re referring specifically to an incident in Norris, California” Lucy explained.

Diana Prince went still.

“I see,” she said “maybe we should talk about this in my office,” she suggested “this way”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The 'Gateway Museum' is named after 'Gateway City' where Wonder Woman made her base of operations in the early, pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths comics. In a bit of unintentional irony on my part, it turns out that Gateway City was based on San Francisco :=)


	6. A Wonder for the Ages, Part Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter SIX! Enjoy! :=)

******

**D.E.O. headquarters**

Alex groaned as she leaned back in her chair, absently rubbing at the back of her neck.

“Having trouble?”

Looking up, she smiled as Astra stepped into the lab.

“Lots,” she confirmed “god, my neck’s killing me” she complained.

“Here,” she stiffened as she felt Astra’s strong, yet surprisingly gentle, fingers began to work on the knots in her neck and shoulders “relax,” Astra breathed, her voice suddenly closer than it had been before “relax,” she repeated, hot breath suddenly ghosting across Alex’s cheek, making her shiver “don’t worry, I’ll take care of you” Astra promised as her fingers moved away from Alex’s neck, combing her hair back, before she pressed her lips to the back of Alex’s neck in a wet, open-mouthed kiss...

“Alex?”

Alex jerked up, blinking as she realized that she’d fallen asleep on her keyboard and that Astra’s magic fingers had been all a dream. Blushing, she sat up, wiping at her eyes as Kara came in.

“You OK?” she asked as she sat down on the desk “you look a little…flushed” she noted.

“Yeah, yeah,” Alex dismissed quickly “I’m fine, just…a bad dream,” she explained “how’ve you been?” she asked, hoping that Kara didn’t figure out just _who_ she’d been dreaming about.

“OK,” Kara nodded “saved a cat,” she explained “oh, which reminds me, do you know a good vet?”

“Uh…not really, no,” Alex stared at Kara “are you thinking of _keeping_ this cat?” she asked.

“Maybe” Kara shrugged.

“Does James know about this?” Alex pressed.

Kara’s face turned sheepish and she began fidgeting.

“Maybe” she shrugged.

“Uh-huh,” Alex grinned “that’s what I thought,” she leaned back in her chair, stretching out her back “oh, hey, did you meet Jaime Sommers?”

“No, why?” Kara wondered.

Alex smirked as she stood up.

“Come on, I’ll introduce you,” she invited as she led Kara out of the lab “I think you’ll like her” she added…

******

Astra spun, bo staff twirling in the air as she jabbed and struck at her opponent, the four of the DEO’s top agents falling to the mat like proverbial dominos with a chorus of pained groaned.

Watching all of this, Susan Vasquez stopped the stopwatch.

“Time,” she called She made a mark on her clipboard “not bad,” she nodded “Morison, you lasted the longest this time” she commented.

The man in question looked up, glowering at Susan as he did.

“Glad to hear it,” he coughed out as he stood up “do I get a cookie?” he wondered as he and his compatriots painfully shuffled out of the training room as Astra put the bo staff away.

“You’re doing pretty well” Susan commented.

“Pardon?” Astra asked, looking up at her in confusion.

“Integrating with the other agents I mean,” Susan explained as she shut off the kryptonite emitters “I think the Director’ll be pleased”

“I’m glad” Astra drawled sarcastically…

******

**Gateway Museum, San Francisco**

Diana Prince’s office was small and neat and tidy. Sitting down behind the desk and absently taking off her glasses, Diana Prince made quite the striking image as she smiled at Lucy and Winn.

“So, you two wanted to know about Norris, California,” she began “I’m going to assume that something similar has happened again?” she asked.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Lucy confirmed “if there’s anything you can tell us, anything at all…?”

Diana sighed as she leaned back in her chair.

“I suspect that all I can tell you is in the files,” she sighed “assuming that they haven’t been shredded already” she added.

“There weren’t many files left,” Winn explained “just, uh, this” he opened the file folder he’d been carrying and held out the printout of the alien symbol, handing it to Diana.

“Ah, yes,” she chuckled humorlessly as she took it from him “yes, I remember this,” she sighed “never could figure out what this meant” she admitted.

The trio suddenly looked up at a loud crash.

“What the hell was that?” Lucy demanded, standing up and peering out the door, drawing her gun.

“What is it?” Winn whispered, standing up and peering past her shoulder, Diana joining them, the three of them watching as a group of armed figures in paramilitary black fatigues marched through the museum’s main gallery, clearly searching for something while several museum patrons huddled against the wall,

Lucy turned back to Winn and Diana.

“Is there another way out of here?” she asked.

“Not through here,” Diana shook her head “once we’re out there we could use the loading dock” she explained.

“Yeah but something tells me that these guys aren’t going to be obliging” Winn pointed out,

Lucy sighed then nodded towards the door.

“Come on,” she invited “stay low”

Pushing the door open, the three carefully edged out of the office, each walking single-file in a hunched over, half-crouched waddle (Lucy had to admire Diana Prince for keeping her balance in a pencil skirt and heels) as they waddled past the gunmen.

Suddenly one turned.

“Over there!” he called.

“MOVE!” Lucy bellowed, somersaulting out of the way as the gunmen opened fire, bullets peppering the walls as they scattered. Grunting, Lucy threw herself over Winn as they suddenly found themselves pinned, her gun suddenly sliding across the linoleum away from her, flecks of drywall raining down on them as the wall they were pressed up against was reduced to nothing.

“You OK?” Lucy panted as the gunmen stopped firing, the _click_ of an assault rifle being reloaded filling the air.

“No,” Winn panted out “not really”

Lifting her head, Lucy cringed as she saw the large bloody wound in Winn’s upper thigh.

“Easy,” she soothed “here,” she took his hand and pressed it over the wound “keep pressure on it, tight as you can” she instructed as she slowly rolled up to a half crouch, keeping her hands where they could be seen as two gunmen approached, taking aim.

“HEY!”

With a grunt, Diana Prince grabbed the gunman’s shoulder and, pulling him around, delivered a hard punch to his jaw, sending him spinning to the floor. Spinning on her heel, she elbowed another gunman in the face as he tried to come up behind her.

Taking a breath as she threw off her glasses, she stood on the ball of one foot and gave a short spin. There was a sudden burst of golden light that flared from her form with blinding intensity along with a thunderclap of sound.

Straightening up as the light dissipated, Diana Prince now stood clad in gleaming gold and crimson armor. The gunmen paused, unsure what to do now in the face of this unexpected turn of events.

Surging forward with an inhuman amount of speed, Diana grabbed one gunman and easily tossed him aside like a ragdoll, repeating the process with two others. The final gunman took aim at her with his rifle, opening fire.

Holding her ground between Lucy and Winn and the gunman, Diana easily deflected the gunfire with the gauntlets on her wrists. Rifle clicking from a lack of ammunition, the gunman let out a snarl of disbelief.

“What _are_ you?!” he demanded in clear frustration.

Diana smirked.

“Hope,” she replied as she easily tore the rifle from his hands, crushing it in half with only minor effort. Turning, she approached Lucy and Winn, smiling somewhat sheepishly as she cocked a hand one hip.

“Well, I suppose I owe you both an explanation” she remarked…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The classic spin that Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman preformed to change from Diana Prince was actually thought up by Lynda herself as a way to save on the show's special effects budget


	7. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Chapter SEVEN! Enjoy! :=)

******

**D.E.O. headquarters**

“You’ve been staring at the photo for hours,” J’onn commented as he came over to where Astra sat by the main operations table, studying the photo of the alien symbol that been burned into the ground at Area 51 “don’t you think that you should take a break?” he wondered.

“I _know_ this symbol,” Astra sighed in frustration, raking a hand through her hair.

Setting his coffee cup down, J’onn pulled a chair over and sat down next to her.

“Well, let’s start at the beginning,” he suggested “we know that it’s alien”

“Obviously” Astra scowled.

“And it was created by alien technology,” J’onn continued, ignoring her scowl “burned into the soil from under the earth,” he handed her a sheet of paper “which reminds me, soil report from Area 51,” he explained “might be helpful,” he shrugged as she scanned the report before tossing it away with a flick of her wrist and a disgusted scowl.

Scowl deepening; she pushed the photograph away, watching as it slid across the table. Frowning as it spun, she reached out and pulled it back.

“What is it?” J’onn asked as Astra frowned at the image and then slowly turned it sideways, suddenly going pale “what is it?” J’onn repeated, frowned as he watched her face becoming frighteningly pale, her eyes widening in clear distress.

“Oh, great Rao preserve us,” she breathed in clear horror “ _no…_ ” she whispered…

******

“How’s the leg?” Diana asked.

“Not too bad,” Winn nodded, flexing his newly-healed leg “thanks”

“No need to thank me” Diana dismissed.

“So…you’re…Wonder Woman?” Lucy asked.

“That’s me” Diana smiled.

Lucy shook her head in clear disbelief.

“God, I mean I’ve heard stories about you from the Second World War, but…I always thought that they were just that, stories,” she huffed out a breath as she gave Winn’s leg a careful poke (which caused him to swat her hand away) “so…magic is real” she reasoned.

“Of a sort,” Diana nodded “its not like Harry Potter, but what you might call ‘magic’ or ‘sorcery’ does exist” she explained.

“And this jet of yours?” Winn asked “we’re really invisible?”

“Completely,” Diana nodded “both to radar and to the naked eye,” she turned to the very modern, normal-looking controls “we should be landing in a few minutes,” she announced “better strap yourselves in” she advised…

******

Kara hung up her cell phone with a frown.

“Everything OK?” Jaime asked.

“I’m not sure,” Kara admitted. She glanced at Alex “does the DEO have a mandatory drug test rule?” she asked.

“Of course,” Alex nodded, frowning “why?”

Kara shook her head as she nodded to her phone.

“That was Winn,” she explained “he and Lucy found Diana Prince, who apparently is actually Wonder Woman, and now their flying here in an invisible plane”

Alex blinked.

“O…K, I think you’re right about that drug test” she murmured as Susan suddenly stuck her head into the room.

“Ma’am, I think you should see this” she exclaimed…

******

Alex frowned as she, Astra, Kara, Jaime Sommers, and J’onn stood outside the DEO in the blazing sands.

“I still don’t see anything” Alex sighed as a distant, thunder-like rumble filled the air, a sudden gust of wind sweeping across the area before the air seemed to part, like a door was opening, three figures stepping out of something that couldn’t be seen to approach the others.

“Agent Lane, Agent Schott,” J’onn nodded. He smiled at Diana Prince “nice to see you again, Diana”

She smiled in kind as she shook his hand.

“And you as well, Director,” she replied. She turned, smiling at Jaime “Jaime Sommers” she chuckled.

“Hello, Diana…again” Jaime replied as they shook hands, enjoying a brief hug.

“Well, now that we’ve gotten the introductions out of the way, General Astra has some disturbing information about our recent arrivals” J’onn explained…


	8. The Cult

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triple update! Chapter EIGHT! Enjoy! :=)

******

“They’re called the ‘Cult of Cythonna’,” Astra explained as the group all gathered around the operations table “they’re an ancient cult from Krypton’s past. Also known as the ‘Children of Cytohnna’, the ‘Daughters of Cythonna’, or the ‘World Killers’.”

“Cheery name” Jaime commented.

“Cythonna,” Kara mused “I remember you used to tell me stories about her,” she remarked “gave Mother one hell of a fright” she chuckled.

“Who or what is ‘Cythonna’?” Alex asked.

“The ancient Kryptonian goddess of ice and death,” Astra explained. Her gaze became distant “dark and terrible mother,” she breathed. She shook her head “according to legend, Cythonna was an ancient queen who learned that her own children were conspiring with her enemies. In revenge, she personally killed them all and hung their mutilated bodies from the battlements of her palace as a warning to all who would defy her”

“Sounds like a real candidate for the mother of the year award” Alex muttered disgustedly.

“As punishment for her horrific crime,” Astra continued “Rao condemned her to infertility and to wander the darkest, blackest parts of the cosmos, her only companions the condemned, damned souls of Krypton” she explained.

“What about this cult?” J’onn asked.

“The cult arose during Krypton’s ancient past,” Astra explained “when our people were still nothing more than tribes of barbarians wandering a desolate wasteland. As their power and influence grew, they threatened all of Krypton. And, one by one, the individual Houses joined forces in a great alliance to stop them in what became known as the ‘War of Ice and Fire’. Finally, the alliance defeated the Cult and executed their members and the cult faded into obscurity”

“But not forgotten, obviously” J’onn pointed out.

“No,” Astra nodded “not forgotten,” she confirmed “elements of the cult remained until Krypton’s last days, but by that point their influence had waned significantly, they were seen as more of a nuisance than an actual threat. Which, unfortunately, brings us to our current predicament,” she turned and pulled up a file on the monitors “it is my belief that there was a priest of the cult imprisoned onboard Fort Rozz,” she explained “one who was accounted for in the aftermath of our battle against Non and his followers”

“Hang on,” Alex held up a hand “even if that’s true, Fort Rozz didn’t crash until 1991, but this symbol was burned into a field in 1976. How do you explain that?”

“Uh, I think I can explain that one,” Winn held up a hand “I was looking through the database and found this,” he turned his tablet and held it out “it’s a Kryptonian artifact that was found in the Pacific in a meteorite in 1960,” he explained “ _but_ here’s the weird part, it disappeared from a government warehouse in 1975”

“It’s not just an artifact,” Kara exclaimed, taking the pad from him “it’s a datacube,” she explained “kinda of like a miniature library” 

“And it has the same symbol” Lucy noted.

“It must contain information relating to Cythonna” Astra reasoned.

“Wait a minute,” Alex held up a hand “we’ve been going on the assumption that the people who attacked both Jaime and Diana were Cadmus, but what if they’re not? What if they’re an Earth-based version of the Cult of Cythonna? Think about it, the ‘60s and ‘70s were rife with cults”

“Jim Jones” Jaime commented.

“Charles Manson” Diana added.

“Right,” Alex nodded “now what if somebody like Jones or Mason found this datacube?” she suggested “we know that alien artifacts have been floating around the black market for years, what if this particular one fell into the hands of somebody smart enough to figure out how to open it?”

The group fell silent as they all digested the implications of this new information.

“My god,” Lucy breathed “they could have been hiding out for decades; they could have even infiltrated certain groups, industries, the government even”

“Regardless,” J’onn dismissed “we have to figure out whatever they’re planning and stop them” he declared…


	9. My Favorite Kryptonian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter NINE! Short, but here it is! Enjoy! :=)

******

Alex scrubbed at her eyes, groaning as she blinked rapidly, trying to stop the world from appearing in double.

“For god’s sake, Alex,” Susan Vasquez groaned as she passed behind her in the corridor “get a life and _go home_ ” she exclaimed.

Alex knew that she should really go home, everyone else at the DEO already had. Even J’onn, who was more of a workaholic then her, and if anything she really needed to clean out her fridge before the moldy food became advanced enough to develop space flight and decided to wage war with the dust bunnies under her bed. But going home had lost its appeal since had Astra had been crashing on her couch for the last six months.

Six months of sharing the same living space with a literal goddess on Earth. Six months of learning that her attraction to Astra wasn’t planning on going away anytime soon. If anything it had only gotten stronger as time went on.

Deciding to get it over with, Alex stood up, stretching out her stiff back before shutting down her computer…

******

**Apartment of Alex Danvers**

Pushing open the door, Alex was confronted by the now-familiar sight of Astra laying on the couch, a book in one hand and a mug of strong tea in the other, a pillow propped up under her head as PBS murmured on the TV on low.

“Hey” Alex greeted as she shut the door.

“Hello” Astra nodded in greeting as Alex unloaded the bags of groceries she’d bought largely to avoid going home as long as possible. Opening the fridge she was confronted with a surprisingly clean and empty fridge.

“You cleaned the fridge” she stated unnecessarily, looking up at Astra in surprised.

“It needed it,” Astra explained “I’m reasonably certain that the cartons of Chinese takeout you had in there were merely days away from developing sentience” she added.

“Well _there’s_ an appetizing mental image,” Alex muttered disgustedly as she shut the fridge and put the rest of the groceries away “anything good on TV?” she wondered as she busied herself with the cabinets.

“Nothing of interest to any reasonably intelligent life-form,” Astra explained “although PBS has been running an interesting program on female comedians” she added.

“Cool,” Alex nodded as she joined Astra on the couch “movie and popcorn?” she suggested.

“That depends,” Astra smirked as she put her book down and moved over to make room for Alex on the couch “what movie do you suggest?” she wondered.

Alex frowned in thought.

“ _Star Trek VI_ ” she declared, already heading to the shelf.

“We watched that just last week” Astra objected.

“Are you complaining?” Alex challenged.

“Well…no,” Astra began “but—”

“Too late,” Alex triumphantly held up the DVD “my apartment, my—”

“…rules, yes I know,” Astra finished “so you’ve said. Multiple times” she scowled somewhat good-naturedly as Alex popped the DVD in and plopped down next to Astra, her nerves about being alone with Astra vanishing in the face of actually being alone with her. And, for a while anyway, she could put thoughts of alien cults, Amazons, and bionic women out of her mind and just enjoy _being_ with Astra…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"if anything she really needed to clean out her fridge before the moldy food became advanced enough to develop space flight and decided to wage war with the dust bunnies under her bed"_.
> 
> For some reason I found this line incredibly funny, I'm still giggling :=)


	10. Compromised

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter TEN! Enjoy! :=)

******

Alex sat up with a wince, realizing that she’d fallen asleep on the couch. Shifting, she wriggled as she sleepily tried to figure out what the weight pressing down on her stomach was.

Suddenly clapping a hand over her mouth to keep from gasping in shock she realized that the weight on her lower body was Astra, who was laying with her head pillowed atop Alex’s stomach, all but snuggling up to her.

Freezing, Alex debated what to do; did she just wait for Astra to wake up? Or did she try to push her off?

The solution came along with a knock at the door. Grunting, Astra sat up, sleepily rubbing at her eyes, tousled dark hair rustling as she sat up.

“Oh, good morning” she greeted, her tone casual, no trace of any unease at finding out that she’d used Alex as a mattress during the night.

“Morning” Alex nodded, pleased that her voice didn’t waver.

“Who’s at the door?” Astra wondered.

“Huh? Oh! I don’t know,” getting up, Alex quickly hurried to the door, pulling it open “oh, hey, Kara” she greeted as Kara walked in.

“Hey, sis,” Kara grinned “Aunt Astra”

“Kara,” Astra nodded in reply as she stood up “I’ll be in the shower if anyone needs me” she announced, getting up.

The sisters both nodded absently as she left the room.

Now alone with Kara, Alex settled about making some extra-strong coffee.

“You look like you had a rough night” Kara commented as Alex busied herself with the coffeemaker.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, fell asleep on the couch with Astra,” Alex answered distractedly “I mean under Astra! Damn it! I mean…coffee?” she held out a mug towards Kara, hoping her smile didn’t seem too fake. Thankfully, Kara—sweet, innocent Kara—didn’t seem to notice Alex’s babbling and instead took the mug with an easy smile as she settled down at the kitchen island.

“So, what brings you by?” Alex asked.

“Oh, well,” Kara began “James and I spent all night looking through CatCo’s archives trying to find any reference to the Cult of Cyothnna going back as far as World War II”

“And? What’d you find?” Alex asked.

Kara scowled.

“Bupkis,” she spat “ _less_ than bupkis,” she added “we’ve got what bupkis keeps in its pocket with the lint”

“Nothing?” Alex asked “not even a reference?”

“Nope,” Kara shook her head “well…that’s not completely true,” she dug through her bag and pulled out a printout “in 1963, there was a small article about a group calling themselves the ‘Students of Truth and Virtue’,” she explained as she handed the sheet of paper to Alex “see the symbol?”

“It’s the same,” Alex nodded “so what did you find out about this group?” she wondered.

“Not too much. Apparently they started out as a grassroots movement, they started in Oakland and San Francisco and did a lot of community outreach programs, soup kitchens, washing off graffiti, stuff like that” Kara explained.

“Like the Black Panthers” Alex nodded.

“Kinda,” Kara nodded “but then, just about the time that the incident in Norris happened, they just…disappeared”

“Or maybe they went underground” Alex reasoned.

“Maybe” Kara nodded, looking morose as another knock came at the door.

Getting up, Alex opened the door.

“Hey guys” she greeted as Winn and Lucy walked in.

“Hey” they both greeted, waving at Kara.

Kara and Alex looked between each other, noting the two big, stupid grins on both Winn and Lucy’s faces.

“Are…you two…OK?” Kara asked.

Winn and Lucy both looked at each other and laughed shyly.

“You want to tell them?” Lucy asked.

“No, no, you go” Winn invited.

“ _Oh my god!_ ” Kara exclaimed “did you two just go on a date?!” she squeaked.

The twin blushes from both Lucy and Winn were all the answer she needed.

“Wow,” Alex remarked “good for you,” she nodded “looks like you two had fun”

“Lots,” Lucy nodded. She shook her head “anyway, that’s not why we’re here”

“I did a word search last night,” Winn explained “using the article that Kara e-mailed me—thanks by the way—and I found an on-line forum using the same symbol”

“He hacked their members list,” Lucy added “it’s not pretty” she held out a sheet of paper.

Frowning, Alex took the list and looked through it.

“Jesus,” she swore “there are at least three senators on this list. Four heads of Fortune 500 companies. And…three generals?”

“Yeah, that’s the scary part,” Winn explained “we did some digging, and all three of those generals are anti-alien”

“And they’re all within very influence positions in the government,” Lucy added “which explains how they got a hold of kryptonite”

“…and the guys in black” Winn added.

“Great” Alex sighed as her cell phone suddenly buzzed with a text from Susan Vasquez “what the…?”

“What is it?” Kara asked

“Text from Vasquez,” Alex explained “some kind of emergency at the DEO”

“I’ll get Astra” Kara nodded…

******

**D.E.O. headquarters**

Entering the DEO, the five were joined by Jaime Sommers and Diana Prince as they entered Command, finding General Lane and his men standing around the main operations table.

“Dad?” Lucy questioned, looking around “what’s going on?” she asked uncertainly “where’s Director Henshaw?”

“Director Henshaw has been suspended,” General Lane explained “the Joint Chiefs of Staff feel that if this cult is as influential as you claim then a stronger military presence is required” 

“So you’re the director now?” Alex skeptically.

“Unfortunately, no,” Lane replied “I’m merely here to oversee the changeover,” he gestured to a man in Marine Corps dress uniform “this is Colonel James Harper, United States Marine Corps,” he introduced “from now on, until this threat has been dealt with, you’re to take orders directly from him” he explained.

“Thank you, General,” Colonel Harper nodded “first order of business, I want these two civilians escorted off the premises,” he nodded at Jaime and Diana “this is a _secure_ facility”

“Colonel,” Lucy objected “these two women have information that is vital to this operation” she explained.

“Then they can write it down,” Harper countered “secondly, I want the Kryptonian general here safety escorted to a cell. We’re not running club fed here”

“General Astra has provided valuable information over the last six months,” Alex objected “using that information, we’ve stopped more alien threats in that time than we’ve done in the last ten years”

“And it tried to kill us six months ago,” Harper scoffed “which reminds me, Agent Danvers, you’re suspended as well, pending review,” he smiled smugly “need to make sure that you haven’t been compromised”


	11. Making Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter ELEVEN! Enjoy! :=)

******

**“Alien Bar”**

The alien bar was sparsely crowded on a Wednesday evening. Getting the drinks, Alex handed them to the others as she sank down in the booth.

“Well, this sucks” Winn muttered as he sipped his beer.

“Tell me about it” Kara nodded.

“Does anyone else find it odd that as soon as this cult shows up; the DEO suddenly goes through a change of management?” Lucy wondered.

“You too, huh?” Winn nodded “yep, I thought that too”

“We _all_ thought that” Alex muttered. She frowned into her ginger beer, suddenly wishing that it was alcoholic.

“How’s Astra holding up?” Kara suddenly wondered.

“Not too bad,” Lucy nodded “I left her with a copy of _War and Peace_ in the original Russian, so she should be entertained for a few minutes anyway” she added.

“How much you want to bet that she’s already planning out an escape?” Winn wondered.

Alex snorted.

“I’ll bet you that she’s already out by now,” she laughed. She glanced over at the pool table “well, at least Jaime and Diana seem to be having fun” she remarked as she watched the other two women playing pool.

“I’ll say,” Lucy nodded “I think they’ve hustled half the people in here out of their money,” she frowned and glanced at Kara “people? Is that right?” she wondered.

“It’s fine” Kara nodded, waving a hand dismissively.

“Whew, good,” Lucy nodded “still getting used to the whole ‘aliens are everywhere’ thing” she explained as Alex suddenly set her bottle down with a distinct air of finality.

“We have to get Astra out of there” she declared as the others looked at her.

“Well…yeah,” Winn nodded “agreed, but…you know…how? It’s not like we can walk in and ask to take her out to dinner”

“I don’t know,” Alex admitted “but we _have to_. Tonight if possible. Something tells me that Colonel Harper isn’t the type to just ask questions. He didn’t seem all that convinced when I passed the lie detector test”

“Same here” Lucy nodded.

“OK,” Kara set her own bottle down “thoughts? Ideas?”

“Well, we have some, if you’re interested”

The group looked up as Jaime and Diana came over.

“Couldn’t help but overhear you all talking” Jaime continued as she sat down.

“That’s funny coming from the woman with the bionic ear,” Alex snorted “so, what’s your idea?” she asked.

“Well…” Jaime and Diana leaned forward just as Lucy’s cell phone rang.

“Oh, sorry,” she pulled the item out “sorry, I need to take this, it’s my Dad” she explained as she answered it, frowning as she did.

“What is it?” Winn asked as she hung up.

“My Dad wants to meet,” she explained “ _off the record_ ” she emphasized.

“Ladies,” Jaime chuckled “I think we have our way in” she declared…


	12. Cleaning House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Chapter TWELVE! Enjoy! :=)

******

**D.E.O. headquarters**

“General Lane,”

Sam Lane turned, keeping his expression open and neutral.

“Colonel Harper” he nodded at other man.

“Clocking out for the night, sir?” Harper asked.

“Yes, I am,” Lane nodded “I thought I’d take my daughter out to dinner” he explained.

“Sounds nice,” Harper nodded. He reached out and gave Lane a seemingly-friendly pat on the arm “keep out of trouble, eh?” he grinned, his oily smile never reaching his eyes, which narrowed slightly at Lane.

“Always, Colonel” Lane nodded, grimacing as he turned away.

Now standing alone in the corridor, Harper signaled to a passing agent.

“Keep an eye on the General” he ordered.

“Sir?” the agent questioned, understandably confused.

“I don’t like how close his daughter is with Supergirl or Agent Danvers,” Harper explained “keep an eye on him” he repeated.

“Aye, sir,” still looking confused, Agent Quinn nodded as he walked away into Command, stopping by Vasquez’s station “Vasquez” he whispered.

Susan looked up.

“Something really weird just happened” Quinn explained…

******

**Apartment of Lucy Lane**

Lucy frowned as she opened the door.

“Hey, Dad,” she greeted as she let him “something wrong?” she asked as he immediately went to the window and peered outside.

“That car,” he began as she joined him “you know it?”

Lucy frowned at the car in question, a simple, plain sedan.

“No” she answered, already pulling out her cell and phone and hurriedly texting Alex.

> I think someone’s followed my dad here

A few seconds later, Alex texted back.

> Copy that. On it

******

Outside, on the street across from the apartment, DEO agents Mallory and Kane each peered through a pair of high-powered binoculars at the apartment.

“Hey, you feel weird about this?” Kane wondered from the passenger seat.

“Why?” Mallory asked.

“Well…I don’t know,” Kane shrugged “I mean spying on a general….I don’t know, it feels kinda of…wrong” he admitted.

“Orders are orders,” Mallory shrugged “we’re suppose to follow them, not question them,” she reminded him as a car honked its horn behind them “Christ,” Mallory swore “go see what that is” she ordered.

“Yeah” Kane nodded as he got out. A few seconds later, car door opened again.

“Well?” Mallory asked. Frowning when no answer came, she put down the binoculars and turned back, jumping in surprise “Danvers!” she exclaimed as she came face-to-face with Alex “what are you doing here? You’re suspended” she exclaimed.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Alex retorted “why does Harper want you following General Lane?”

“I can’t tell you,” Mallory shook her head “I’ve got my orders”

Alex sighed.

“I figured you say that” she sighed as the back door opened, someone climbing in and sitting down behind Mallory. Suddenly a thin cord of rope was suddenly being wrapped around Mallory’s upper arms, pinning them to her sides and tying her to the chair.

“What the fuck?!” she exclaimed as she struggled against the surprisingly-strong rope to no avail.

“Answer the woman’s question, Agent Mallory,” Diana Prince insisted calmly as Mallory wriggled—unsuccessfully—trying to escape “the lasso compels you to tell the truth,” Diana added “now…why does Colonel Harper want General Lane followed?”

“He…thinks that Lane’s daughter is…too…close to Supergirl and Danvers” Mallory answered, the words sounding as it they were being wrenched from her.

“Why?” Alex asked.

Mallory weakly shook her head, a subtle, but noticeable, golden glow illuminating the rope wrapped around her as she started to pant for breath, her clenched jaw working as if under its own volition.

“I don’t know! He didn’t say!” she suddenly exclaimed, panting in clear relief even as her expression was one of pure shock.

“Thanks, Mallory” Alex nodded as the rope was removed. Nodding to herself, Alex removed a syringe from her pocket, Mallory’s attempt at escape being foiled by Diana quickly pinning her in place by the shoulders.

“What is that?” Mallory demanded as Alex uncapped the syringe.

“Relax, just a sedative,” Alex replied as she quickly stabbed it down into Mallory’s upper thigh “you might have a bit of a headache when you wake up,” she warned as she remove it “but, as far as you’ll be concerned, this’ll all have been a bad dream” she explained as Mallory’s head began to droop, she weakly scrabbled at the door handle before she suddenly slumped over, unconscious.

Getting out of the car with Diana, Alex assessed Lucy’s apartment building.

“On the right” Diana nodded down the street where a dark SUV pulled up to the curb, it’s lights off as it did so.

“I was afraid of that,” Alex nodded as she pulled her cell phone out, already dialing Lucy even as she and Diana sprinted towards the building “Lucy! Looks like Harper sent for a cleaning squad! Get out now!” she exclaimed…


	13. The Great Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triple update! Chapter THIRTEEN! Enjoy! :=)

******

As Alex and Diana entered the lobby, the lights suddenly flickered and went out.

“They cut the power” Alex realized.

“Standard procedure” Diana nodded as Alex glanced at her cell phone again, its small screen the only source of light in the darkened lobby.

“Lucy?” she questioned.

“Nearly there” Lucy panted out in reply as she and her father pushed through the crowded hall, struggling to reach the fire stairs.

“Likewise,” Alex replied as she Diana hurried up the stairs towards Lucy’s floor “stay sharp” she warned as she and Diana both froze at the sound of heavy footsteps pounding up the stairs directly behind them.

Putting the phone away, Alex spun on her heel, coming face-to-face with a DEO agent in full tac gear. His eyes widened in clear surprise as he saw her.

“Danvers?” he asked, confused.

“Hey, Jack,” Alex nodded reply “no hard feelings, eh?” she asked. Before the agent could reply, she swung out, delivering a hard chop to his throat. Gagging, he stumbled back, colliding with the rest of the strike team, resulting in a domino effect as the team went tumbling down the stairs in a tangle of limbs.

“Alex! Here!” Diana called as she easily wrenched open a door marked ‘ELEVATOR ACCESS’. Peering into the elevator shaft, she nodded at the cables “come on!” she insisted, easily leaping from the door to grab hold of the cables one-handed.

“Show off,” Alex muttered as she repeated the process herself, one hand briefly slipping before she regained her grip. Wrapping both hands tightly around the cables, she looked down the shaft “come on, Kara,” she muttered “come on”

With a quiet whoosh, Kara suddenly flew up the shaft to bob besides both women.

“Going up?” she grinned, quickly grabbing each woman in one arm before she rocketed up the shaft to Lucy’s floor “Lucy Lane’s floor, everybody off”

“You’re enjoying this _way_ too much” Alex muttered as Diana stepped onto the narrow ledge under the doors and pried them open with only minor difficulty.

“Lucy!” Kara waved as Lucy and her father reached the doors. Frowning, General Lane looked at Kara and then down the shaft.

“Are you joking?” he demanded as Alex grabbed hold of Lucy and then they both leapt into Kara’s outstretched arm, Kara quickly pulling the two close to her side as she continued floating in the middle of the shaft.

“If you have a better idea, we’re open to suggestions,” Diana remarked. When Lane merely scowled, she grinned at him “thought not,” she held out her arms “come on, General, I won’t bite”

Scowling, Lane allowed her to grab hold of him before she leapt into Kara’s other arm.

“Everybody hang on” Kara warned before she shot up the shaft.

“We’re getting awfully close to top here, Kara!” Lucy warned over the wind.

“Don’t worry,” Kara grinned “I’ve got a plan” she assured them.

Just seconds before they collided with the top of the shaft, it was wrenched away, leaving the group to rocket out onto the roof.

Grinning at them as they landed, Jaime dropped the mangled access hatch she held in one arm.

“Come on,” she insisted “our ride’s here” she explained, rounding the corner to step off the roof and promptly disappear.

“What the…?” Lane exclaimed as Lucy shoved him forward, the five of them suddenly finding themselves inside what looked like a neat and modest private jet.

“Invisible plane” Alex explained distractedly as Diana took the controls.

“Where to?” she asked.

“The DEO,” Alex answered “we need to get Astra out” she exclaimed.

“Hang on” Diana warned as the jet silently and invisibly rocketed across the night sky…


	14. Dark Night of the Soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter FOURTEEN! Enjoy! :=)

******

Astra assessed the transparent walls of her kryptonite cell for the tenth time. The DEO had learned from past experience, the seams in between the eight panes were smaller and the kryptonite emitters had been turned up to a higher level.

Settling back down on the bench, Astra laid down, resting her arms under her head.

“Comfy, Kryptonian?”

Turning, Astra assessed Colonel Harper as he entered the room.

“I’ve already answered the DEO’s questions,” she dismissed, turning away from him “besides,” she added “we both know that you have no interest turning over any information I give you to the government”

“Oh, really?” Harper scoffed “you think you know so much do you?”

Astra turned to him, smirking as she slowly rolled up into a sitting position.

“You tell me, Child of Cythonna,” she chuckled “that’s what you are, isn’t it? A follower of that murderous old hag”

Harper stepped up the transparency.

“You have no idea what you’re dealing with, Kryptonian,” he hissed “when we’re through, this country—this _world_ —will finally be cleansed of sin” he declared.

Astra smirked in reply.

“We’ll see,” she mused “we’ll see”

******

Alex assessed the duffel bag that J’onn placed on the table in front of her.

“Are we going bear hunting?” she wondered as J’onn opened it and handed her a fully-loaded handgun.

“We might be,” he warned “it looks as if the DEO has been completely taken over by the Cult of Cythonna,” he explained. He glanced past her at Diana as she manned the jet’s controls “Ms. Prince, what’s our ETA?”

“Fifteen minutes” Diana called back.

“All right,” J’onn nodded “Alex, what’s your plan?” he asked.

Alex took a breath.

“All right,” she began “Jaime, Diana, and Supergirl will scout out the DEO,” she began “meanwhile, Lucy and I will try to use the old ventilation system to gain access to the DEO proper”

“What do we do?” Kara asked, gesturing between herself and Jaime.

“You, Jaime, and Diana are going make as big a fuss as possible,” Alex grinned “overturn some HUMVEEs, knock down a few walls, anything to keep Harper and his goons occupied long enough for me and Lucy to get to the prisoner block and get Astra out”

“What about General Lane?” J’onn asked, nodding to the man in question.

“I want him and you to also make a fuss,” Alex nodded “yell a few guards, throw some regulations in their faces, something” she explained.

“Excuse me,” Lane suddenly spoke up “but since when do _I_ take orders from _you_ , Agent Danvers?”

“Since the DEO and possibly most of the federal government was taken over by a murdering alien cult, General,” J’onn answered “the only reason that you’re here is because of your daughter” he explained.

“We’re coming in for a landing,” Diana announced “better strap yourselves in”

******

**D.E.O. headquarters**

At twelve midnight, the DEO was largely quiet. Most of the agents had gone home for the night, and those that remained were usually hours away from going home themselves.

Landing the invisible jet just outside the perimeter, Diana and Jaime stepped out and, making sure that they weren’t seen, sprinted across the sands at inhuman speed, Kara gliding after them, her cape rustling in the evening breeze.

Stepping out behind them, Lucy, her father, and Alex and J’onn looked around.

“Would someone kindly explain just what in the hell is going on?” General Lane demanded.

“Long story, Dad” Lucy answered as they hurried across the sands in the opposite direction as Diana and Jaime, towards a small, disused radio shed. Reaching it, Alex knocked on it in sequence.

With a creaking groan of old hinges, the door opened, Winn peering out.

“Hey,” he greeted, beckoning them inside the small, cluttered space “you guys OK?” he asked.

“We’re good,” Lucy nodded “what’s the situation inside?”

“Not good,” Winn answered as he pulled over a tablet PC which appeared to have been wired into the radio shack’s systems “I hacked into the security cameras, and it looks like most of the agents have been suspended,” he explained “Harper’s brought in a whole bunch of new guys”

“Other members of the cult no doubt,” J’onn nodded “who’s left?” he asked.

“Well, according to this,” Winn nodded to the tablet “only…Quinn and Vasquez”

“That’s it?” Alex exclaimed “just them?”

“Just them” Winn confirmed.

“All right,” J’onn nodded “the plan’s still the same, but this time I want Lucy to stay here with her father, Agent Danvers and I will go in alone”

“Are you sure?” Lucy asked.

“I’m sure, Agent Lane,” J’onn nodded “Winn? Keep an eye on our progress”

“Will do,” Winn nodded. He titled the tablet “the old ventilation system starts over here,” he explained, pulling up a diagram “but be careful, its old but its still guarded” he warned.

Alex and J’onn nodded at each other.

“Let’s go” Alex nodded…


	15. The Kryptonian Job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter FIFTEEN! Enjoy! :=)

******

Alex frowned as she peered down the narrow shaft sticking halfway out of the sand.

“Are you sure this is going to work?” she wondered.

“You’re asking _me_?” J’onn echoed “this was your plan, Alex” he reminded her.

“I know,” she nodded “just…wondering about my sanity” she explained as she slung one leg over the edge of the hatch.

“When you care for someone you rarely make sane decisions,” J’onn chuckled.

She froze, then shaking her head, climbed the rest of the way down the shaft. Reaching the bottom, she pulled out the small flashlight she always carried in her pocket and swung it around as J’onn deftly climbed down after. Spotting the narrow, square ventilation shaft, Alex silently nodded towards it before she put the flashlight in between her teeth and climbed inside, finding that it was a very narrow fit. Not to mention dusty, and she hoped that the shadows she was seeing along the walls of the shaft were just rocks and not something like rats.

“Are we going to talk about this?” J’onn wondered from behind her.

“Hmph” Alex answered around the flashlight.

“I’ve seen the way you look at her, Alex,” J’onn continued “and, I’ve seen the way she looks at you”

Alex paused, glancing over her shoulder at him, taking the flashlight out of her mouth.

“Doesn’t matter,” she declared as she continued on “like you said, she’s just another agent” she dismissed.

“No, I said to ‘treat’ her like another agent,” J’onn corrected “you and I both know that she’s _far more_ than just ‘another agent’.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Alex repeated “she’s my sister’s aunt,” she explained “plus, she tried to enslave the entire city not just six months ago”

“Perhaps,” J’onn agreed “but she’s tried to make amends over the past six months” he pointed out.

“Are we seriously having this conversation?” Alex demanded.

“Yes, we are,” J’onn insisted “because, like it or not, your attraction to her could affect your work,” he explained “whatever the reasons, you need to deal with it as soon as possible. I don’t care _how_ you deal it, just deal with it”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you were playing matchmaker” Alex grumbled…

******

Meanwhile, Kara, Jaime, and Diana had reached the DEO’s perimeter.

“Any ideas?” Kara wondered.

Frowning, Jaime suddenly brightened and, picking up a large rock, took aim at one of the security cameras. The rock sailed through the air, taking out four cameras in rapid succession.

“Cool” Kara grinned.

“Actually I was only aiming at one” Jaime admitted.

“Oh” Kara giggled as an alarm suddenly blared out, floodlights sweeping the area as agents in full tactical gear swarmed the area…

******

Alex scowled as she came to a stop. The shaft suddenly dropped straight down.

“Fuck,” she swore as she looked around “there’s no way around” she complained as she saw that there was not enough space for them to turn around and try to go down feet first.

“Guess we’ll just have to do this the old-fashioned way” J’onn remarked.

“Guess so,” Alex muttered as she turned off the flashlight and put it away before tucking her arms around her head “Astra, I’m blaming you if I get a concussion” she muttered just before she dove headfirst down the shaft, J’onn close behind…

******

“GET DOWN ON THE GROUND AND PLACE YOUR HANDS ABOVE YOUR HEADS!!!!” a voice on a loudspeaker ordered as the helicopter swooped around Kara, Jaime, and Diana.

“Not on your life” Kara muttered as she suddenly shot upwards into the sky, zooming straight for the chopper, forcing the pilot to make a sharp turn. Meanwhile, down on the ground, the tac team surrounding Jaime and Diana took aim.

With a grunt, Diana suddenly lunged, shooting forward with inhuman, godly speed to slam into three agents at once, sending them flying into the air.

“WEAPONS FREE!!”

As machine gunfire lit up the night, Jaime Sommers dove for cover behind a HUMMVEE. Tucking her left arm protectively against her side, she gripped one of the vehicle’s tires with her bionic arm, pulling back. With a creaking groan of protesting metal, the wheel broke free. Standing up, Jaime swung the wheel back like a Frisbee, hurtling it into the midst of agents, who scattered as they saw it coming as it smashed into an approaching HUMMVEE, the force of the impact sending the military-grade vehicle tumbling onto its side...

******

“REPORT!!” Colonel Harper demanded as he stormed into Command.

“We’re under attack, sir!” came the frantic response.

“By who?!” Harper demanded.

“Supergirl!”

Harper froze, his expression darkening.

“Danvers!” he hissed. He moved to the main controls, roughly shoving agents aside, pulling up a map of the area surrounding the base “send a team to this radio shed!” he ordered “find whoever’s there! _NOW!!!_ ”

******

Winn looked up from his tablet.

“Oh…crap,” he murmured, suddenly frantic disconnecting the tablet “come on! They’ve found us!” he exclaimed.

Lucy and her father nodded at each other.

“Let’s go” General Lane nodded as he loaded the handgun that J’onn had given him…

******

Alex grunted as she suddenly slid forward, crashing through a vent to tumble out onto hard, dusty concrete.

“ _Oh…fuck!_ ” she swore as J’onn came tumbling out after her.

“You all right?” J’onn asked as he got to his feet.

“Yeah,” she groaned as she shakily got her feet, wincing “…more or less,” she muttered. Still wincing, she looked around the dark corridor that they’d found themselves in “all right,” she nodded “let’s see, where the hell are we?”

“If memory serves, this part of the old Air Force monitoring station,” J’onn nodded as he looked around “back during the Cold War”

Alex nodded as she looked around.

“Right, so…we should want to go…this way”

Nodding to herself, she set down the corridor…

******

“Mayday! Mayday!” the pilot of the helicopter which was harassing Kara was frantically struggling with the controls as Kara easily tore the cockpit open like a bag of potato chips.

“You know, you people are _really_ starting to piss me off!” she yelled at him over the roar off rotor blades.

“Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry!” the pilot babbled as Kara easily pulled him free of his seat and carried him off, the helicopter rapidly spinning out of control as it tumbled to crash to the ground in a fiery explosion…

******

Alex kicked the ventilation hatch open, grinning to herself as she saw the interior corridor of the DEO’s prisoner block.

Dropping down to the floor, she signaled to J’onn, gesturing for him to keep watch as she sprinted down the corridor towards as set of heavy double doors marked ‘MAXIMUM SECURITY CELL AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY’.

Slamming her hand on the control panel, Alex breathed a sigh of relief as they slid open. Storming inside the cell, she squinted at the bright green glow of kryptonite.

“Alex?” Astra stood up, staring at her in clear surprise as Alex turned to the controls “what are you doing?” Astra wondered as the cell slid open.

“Rescuing you,” Alex grinned as she hurried to the cell, grabbing Astra’s hand and tugging her along “come on!” she urged, yanking her out into the corridor.

“ALEX!” J’onn warned as gunfire suddenly filled the air. Gasping, Alex grunted as Astra suddenly pivoted, pressing herself protectively against the younger woman, pinning her against the wall as J’onn returned fire.

As she gasped for breath, pressed between Astra and the wall, time seemed to slow down for Alex. The roar of gunfire seemed muffled, drowned out by the frantic beating of her heart, her blood thundering away in her ears as she stared into bright grey-green eyes.

Suddenly, without really thinking _why_ , she surged forward, closing the gap between them to press her lips against Astra’s own in heated, frantic kiss, one which Astra eagerly returned before there was a particularly loud _crack_ and a piece of concrete broke away from the wall just inches from Alex’s head.

Breaking away from the kiss, Astra’s expression became downright primal as she suddenly turned and then rocketed down the corridor at superspeed, the sound of gunfire suddenly replaced by panicked shouts and screams as Astra easily tore through the strike team, breaking limbs with a frightening ease.

Turning back, she hurried over to Alex.

“We need to go” she urged.

“Better take the direct route!” J’onn suggested, nodding up at the ceiling.

Smirking, Astra wrapped an arm around Alex’s waist, pulling her close, before she swung her free arm up, using it to shield them both as she easily smashed through the ceiling, streaking out into the night sky in an explosive cloud of rocks and dust, J’onn—now in his true form—not far behind…

******

A few feet away, Kara smiled as she saw the three figures streaking away into the night.

“Jaime, they’re clear!” she called out.

Down on the ground, Jaime turned and gave Diana a thumbs up.

Nodding, Diana rammed her shoulder into an overturned HUMMVEE, sending it careening towards the reinforcements, temporarily blocking their path. Turning, both Diana and Jaime leapt into the air, sailing off into the night…

******

“Winn! Come on!” Lucy urged.

“Just a second!” he called back “I need to erase our digital footprint!” he hurriedly explained “got it!” he exclaimed.

“Great! Now let’s go!” Lucy urged as she and her father burst out of the radio shack, freezing as they were suddenly surrounded by a full tac team.

“FREEZE! HANDS ABOVE YOUR HEADS!!”

Sighing, Lucy slowly set the gun down and did as instructed, her father and Winn following suit.

“Well, well, General,” Colonel Harper smugly approached “I see that you’re doing some business on the side,” he chuckled.

He nodded to one of the agents.

“Arrest them” he ordered…


	16. Salvation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter SIXTEEN! Enjoy! :=)

******

Landing on a bluff overlooking the city, Kara breathed a quiet sigh of relief as Astra landed; Alex held protectively in one arm, J’onn landing just behind them, shifting back into Hank Henshaw’s form as Diana and Jaime came bounding across the sands to land besides them.

Frowning, Kara looked around, noticing that their group was missing three people.

“Wait, where’s Lucy and Winn?” she wondered.

“They must have been caught,” Alex realized, scowling “we can’t go back for them,” she declared “not yet anyway”

“But—” Kara tried.

“They can take care of themselves, Kara,” Astra reminded her “right now, we need to regroup”

“Astra’s right,” J’onn nodded “we’ll split up and meet up back at the bar in three hours” he ordered.

Still frowning, Kara nodded reluctantly as they all went their separate ways…

******

“All right,” Colonel Harper sighed “let’s try this again: what were you doing in that radio shed?”

Sitting opposite him at the interrogation table looking rather calm, Winn shrugged.

“Just doing some routine work” he dismissed.

Harper suddenly slammed his hands on the table.

“ _ **DO I LOOK FUCKING STUPID TO YOU??!?!**_ ” he roared. He took a harsh breath, clearly reigning in his anger “you expect me to believe that, at the same moment this organization comes under attack by Supergirl and two other individuals, you and Lucy Lane and her father all just ‘happen’ to be in the same radio shed at the same time that one of our most dangerous prisoners escapes from her cell?” he demanded

Again, Winn shrugged.

Harper leaned forward across the table.

“If you don’t start talking, I’m going to make sure that you _never_ see the light of day again” he hissed.

Winn frowned.

“Dude, did you practice that in mirror or something?” he wondered “because that was really clichéd” he added.

Harper snarled in annoyance, teeth audibly grinding as he stood up.

“Lock him up!” he ordered as he stormed out of the room…

******

**Apartment of Alex Danvers**

Alex grunted as she stepped out of Astra’s arms onto her balcony. Opening the doors, she stepped inside the apartment, absently turning on the lights.

“Are we going to talk about what happened back there?” she wondered.

“You’ll have to be more specific,” Astra remarked “a lot happened back there”

Alex sighed as she turned around to face the Kryptonian.

“Don’t be smart,” she sighed “you know what I’m talking about”

“Do I?” Astra mused “hmm,” she frowned “I’m afraid I really don’t” she teased as she slowly stepped into Alex’s personal space, reaching up to cup Alex’s cheek. Sighing, Alex found herself leaning into Astra’s touch as her cell phone suddenly rang.

“That…that’s Kara,” she mumbled, reluctantly pulling herself away from Astra “I got to take this,” she mumbled as she answered the phone “yeah, Kara?”

“ _Hey,_ ” Kara greeted “ _listen, did you see anything strange flying in?_ ” she asked.

“Strange how?” Alex asked, frowning.

“ _I don’t know,_ ” Kara admitted “ _just…a weird feeling I got when I flew back home,_ ” she explained “ _people on the street seemed to be acting…funny_ ”

“Kara, you just described every city in America,” Alex sighed “it’s probably just your nerves” she dismissed.

“ _Yeah, you’re probably right_ ” Kara admitted.

Alex frowned.

“Still,” she began “keep an eye out,” she advised “we _did_ just break into a classified government facility”

“ _Will do_ ” Kara grinned as she ended the call…

******

**D.E.O, headquarters**

“Colonel, here’s the item you requested from the store room, sir,”

Harper nodded in silent thanks as he took the box from the agent. Turning it over in his hands, he studied it for a moment.

“If you don’t mind my asking, sir,” the agent began “but, what is it?”

“A little gift from Krypton, Agent” Harper replied as he set the boxy device down and pulled a laptop over. Opening the laptop, he tapped in a series of commands before he attached the box to the computer.

The computer chimed, lines of code scrolling down the screen before a dialog box appeared.

Device Ready. Do you wish to continue?  
Y/N

Smirking, Harper clicked on ‘YES’, the box lighting up with a blue glow before it seemed to shimmer and ‘melt’ into the laptop. Nodding to himself, Harper picked it up and carried it out into Command, hooking it up to the main consoles, agents staring at him in confusion as strange symbols appeared on the monitors.

“Colonel?” Susan Vasquez questioned as she frowned at the symbols now scrolling down her station’s screen.

“Problem, Agent?” Harper asked as he slipped an earpiece of some kind over his ear.

“Well, sir,” Susan began “that’s Kryptonian” she nodded towards the symbols

“Very observant, agent,” Harper sneered sarcastically as another dialog box appeared on both the laptop’s screen and the monitors.

READY TO TRANSMIT SIGNAL

Susan looked between the monitors and Harper, frowning.

“Sir? What’s going on?” she asked as Harper typed in a few more commands into the laptop. Pausing, he looked up at her, smirking.

“Salvation, Agent,” he explained “the salvation of the human race”

Turning back, he stabbed his finger down on the ‘ENTER’ key. A progress bar quickly flashed across the screens.

TRANSMITTING SIGNAL…

Instantly, Susan Vasquez’s expression turned from one of confusion to a blank, natural expression.

Seeing this, Harper smirked at her.

“Stand up,” he ordered.

She stood up.

“Stand on one leg,” Harper added.

Susan stood on one leg without question.

Chuckling, Harper turned back to the monitors, grinning to himself.

“Thank you, General Astra,” he chuckled “you really _did_ save the planet,” he grinned as he examined the inside of one wrist, the symbol of the Cult of Cyothnna tattooed on his skin.

“And glory to you, Cyothnna,” he breathed reverently “glory”

******

At that moment, Alex suddenly doubled over, gripping her head in pain.

“Alex?” Astra hurried over “what is it? What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Alex panted out “god, it’s like someone just started wailing on the inside of my skull with a hammer,” she explained. She weakly stood up “I’m OK now,” she breathed “god, what the fuck was that?” she wondered as her cell phone rang again, Kara’s ringtone filling the air.

“Kara?” Astra answered it.

“ _Aunt Astra!_ ” Kara sounded frantically “ _something’s happening to James, to everyone!_ ” she exclaimed.

“Kara, Kara, calm down,” Astra urged as she put the call on speaker “now, describe what’s happening?” she encouraged.

Kara took a breath.

“ _I don’t know,_ ” she admitted “ _it’s like everyone’s turned into zombies or something,_ ” she exclaimed.

“Astra” Alex suddenly called from the window “I think you should see this”

Coming to join her, Astra frowned down at the street below, where hundreds of people now marched in perfect single-file lockstep. The young, the old, men, women, children, all seemingly following some kind of unspoken command. People driving home from work calmly abandoned their cars to join the marching horde.

Turning back to the phone still in her hand, Astra took a shaky breath.

“Kara,” she began “I think that you should call J’onn” she breathed…


	17. The Signal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter SEVENTEEN! Enjoy! :=)

******

**D.E.O. headquarters**

The DEO was eerily silent expect for the sound of dozens of agents all marching in perfect lockstep.

Turning from the monitors, Colonel Harper smiled as Lucy, her father, and Winn came into the room, their faces blank, expressionless.

“The DEO is secure,” General Lane stated “what are you orders?”

Harper chortled.

“Oh, I am _loving_ this,” he grinned “release any and all meta-human prisoners” he ordered.

“Aye” Lucy nodded, approaching the controls and entering a series commands. As she stepped back, alarms began to blare.

“ _Warning, containment override initiated,_ ” the computer warned “ _cell power dampeners will deactivate in thirty seconds_ ”

As the computer began counting down, a strong gust of icy cold wind suddenly surged through the room, sending Harper and Lucy and Winn and General Lane to the floor.

Staggering to his feet, Harper scowled.

“You!” he spat.

“Surprised?” Astra grinned.

“You’re too late,” Harper sneered as he got to his feet, Lucy, Winn, and General Lane calmly following suit “you can’t stop us,” he boasted.

Astra tensed as a gun _clicked_ just to the right of her head. Turning, she raised an eyebrow as Alex calmly held her at gunpoint, her face blank.

“See?” Harper chuckled “even your number one fan here has turned against you”

Astra said nothing as she and Alex stared at each other. Suddenly, Alex turned, swinging the gun towards Harper.

“Psych!” she grinned as she fired, Harper diving for cover “go! Go!” she yelled at Astra as Lucy and her father took aim at her. Ducking behind a set of heavy crates, Alex returned fire, aiming for the ground at their feet.

“Come on, Lucy! Snap out of it!!” she bellowed as the gunfire died down, Lucy and her father both calmly reloading. Suddenly, someone suddenly grabbed Alex from behind, swinging her up and out from her hiding place.

Regaining her equilibrium, Alex gapped as Winn stood over her, suddenly swinging out a leg to give her a hard kick towards the ribs, one which she just barely dodged. Getting to her feet, she blocked Winn’s surprisingly-efficient punches and kicks.

“Astra! Anytime now!” she hollered.

“I’m trying!” Astra yelled back as she frantically worked the controls.

“Well ‘try’ _harder!!_ ” Alex yelled back.

“Would you like to trade places?!” Astra demanded

“Just hurry the fuck up!!” Alex yelled as Winn suddenly pinned her against the wall, delivering a hard punch to her solar plexus

“I am!” Astra snarled as she easily swatted a lunging Lucy and General Lane away, wincing as she watched them both sail through the air to land on the main operations table with a crash “oops” Astra murmured as she went back to the controls. Letting out a snarl of frustration, she stepped back and aimed a blast of heat vision at the monitors, destroying them in a shower of sparks.

Turning away, Astra shot over to where Alex was still grappling with Winn, and easily prying him off her, pinned him to the ground, delivering a quick jab to various pressure points, causing him to go limp.

Straightening up, she assessed Alex, who was rubbing at her arm.

“Are you all right?” Astra asked.

“Swell” Alex coughed out “did you shut down the signal?” she asked.

“No,” Astra shook her head “nor I was able to stop the prisoner release” she added as she pulled Alex to her feet.

“How many got loose?” Alex asked.

“As far as I could see, three,” Astra answered “Silver Banshee, Livewire, and Reactron”

“Meta-humans,” Alex nodded “makes sense, you made Myriad to affect Humans only, so the alien prisoners wouldn’t be affected,” she reasoned “but why am I immune?” she wondered.

“Later” Astra dismissed.

“Astra!” Alex growled “ _why_ am I immune to Myriad?” she demanded.

Astra sighed heavily as she turned around.

“Do you remember when Kara was attacked by the black mercy?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Alex nodded “that was when you defected to the DEO”

Astra shook her head.

“That wasn’t all that happened that night,” she admitted “as Non and I prepared for the final stage, I…modified the signal,” she explained “isolating one particular neural signature, preventing it from being affected by the wave”

“Mine” Alex breathed.

Astra nodded.

“Yes” she answered.

Alex stared at her, shaking her head in confusion.

“Why?” she asked.

“Because of Kara,” Astra answered “at least…that’s what I told myself then,” she added, smirking humorlessly “I told myself that I didn’t want to hurt her by enslaving you. But…we both know that wasn’t the whole reason”

“No,” Alex agreed. She shook her head “when this whole fucking mess is over, you and I are going to a _long_ talk” she muttered...


	18. Signal Strength

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're BACK!!!!! Yes, that's right! "The Spirit of '76" is finally being updated! So enjoy! :=)

******

Alex grunted as she finshed securing the last zip-tie, tying the still-unconscious Lucy to her father and Winn.

Stepping back to assess her handiwork, she sighed.

"I am _so_ getting fired" she muttered.

"You should be so lucky" Astra remarked as she scrutinized the laptop that Colonel Harper had left behind, the laptop that was transmitting Myriad.

"Any luck?" Alex wondered, peering over Astra's shoulder.

"No," the Kryptonian sighed as she leaned back "as near as I can tell, the Myriad wave is now firmly embedded in the sattelitte network," she explained "so even if we crush this laptop into dust--"

"...it won't stop it" Alex nodded.

"Correct," Astra nodded back "but, this is where is gets strange," she pointed to the waveform in the laptop's screen "the wave's strength is far lower than it would have been if I'd have implimented it"

"O...K," Alex nodded slowly "so...what does that mean?"

Astra shrugged.

"I have no idea" she admitted.

"You're a real help," Alex muttered "what about weapons?" she asked.

"The armory's been cleared out," Astra answered "so, unless you want to sharpen the pool cues in the break room into spears, we're on our own in that regard"

"Maybe we'll just throw some rocks at them" Alex muttered disgustedly...

******

**CatCo Worldwide Media**

Leaving the DEO, Astra and Alex found a National City that seemed to be completly unaffected by the Myriad wave. People bustled about to and fro as normal, no signs of the early morning's zombine-like behavior.

Landing atop the roof of the CatCo building, the two women looked out over the city in confusion.

"Well...this is...unexpected" Astra remarked.

"Is just the DEO being affected?" Alex wondered.

"I have no idea," Astra shook her head "this makes no sense," she snarled "even at its lowest setting, there would still be _some_ sort of effect from Myriad" she hissed.

"So far, all that seems to have been affected is the cell phone networks" Alex remarked, holding out her cell phone, a repeatadly blinking 'NO SERVICE' message flashing acorss its screen.

"Well, that would explain why Kara hasn't called us," Astra nodded "or anyone else for that matter" she added.

"Yeah," Alex nodded. She frowned as she looked down on the seemingly-normal streets of National City.

"Whatever the Cult's planning," she began "something tells me that this is only the beginning" she remarked...


	19. The Four Horsemen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're BACK! "The Spirit of '76" is finally being update! Enjoy! :=)

******

**CatCo Worldwide Media**

Stepping off the elevator, Alex and Astra found a very normal, bustling workplace, the only oddity was that many people were complaining about their lack of cell phone service.

“I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop” Alex muttered.

“Likewise” Astra agreed.

“Alex!” Kara waved as she hurried over, followed by both Diana and Jaime.

“Hey, you OK?” Alex asked.

“Yeah,” Kara nodded “just…,” she gestured at the room in general “you know…weirded out”

“We all are,” Alex nodded. She glanced at Diana and Jaime “were you two affected?”

“No” Jaime shook her head.

“Must be the metal plate in your skull,” Astra suggested “blocks the signal”

“And I’m not strictly Human” Diana added.

“But that doesn’t explain,” Alex gestured to the room “…this, I mean why take control of everyone in the city only to have them go about their day like normal?”

“Let’s find out,” Astra nodded “Kara, can I borrow your computer?”

“Yeah, sure” Kara nodded, leading the group over to her desk where Astra sat down and pulled Kara’s tablet close, rapidly typing.

“What are you doing?” Alex asked, leaning over her shoulder.

“Accessing the signal,” Astra answered “and would you mind not breathing down my neck? You’re inflating my shirt”

Rolling her eyes, Alex pulled back somewhat reluctantly, glancing at Kara as she did. She wondered if she should tell Kara about what happened between her and Astra, then quickly dismissed that thought, she didn’t even know what was going on between her and Astra yet.

“Ah-ha,” Astra exclaimed quietly “here, look” she pointed to the Kryptonian symbols now scrolling down the surface of Kara’s tablet.

“What are we looking at?” Jaime wondered as they all leaned in.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Astra admitted “but like I told Alex earlier it seems like that the signal has been modified; it’s…subtler, less invasive”

“That probably explains why the cell phones are down,” Alex nodded “but _why_?” she insisted. She glanced at Astra “what could the signal do in this form?” she asked.

Astra shook her head.

“I don’t know,” she exclaimed “it wasn’t meant to be used like this”

“Well _guess_ ” Alex insisted.

Astra sighed heavily, frowning at the tablet.

“If I had to ‘guess’,” she began “it could…,” she trailed off, sitting up suddenly “it could affect the autonomic functions of the brain” she breathed.

“The what?” Kara asked

“They’re the part of the brain that control involuntary functions,” Jaime explained “your heart, lungs, things like that”

“So, using Myriad like this,” Alex began “they could just…stop everyone’s heart if they wanted to”

“But why haven’t they?” Diana wondered.

The group grew silent; all turning this information in their heads before Alex suddenly snapped her fingers.

“Plague,” she breathed “if you could control the autonomic functions of the brain you could simulate the effects of a virus or plague” she explained.

“Why would they do that?” Kara wondered “I mean, why not just use a regular virus?”

Alex shook her head.

“Viruses are unpredictable,” she explained “they can mutate, adapt to vaccines or cures, and the Cult needs one that they can control”

“Why?” Astra wondered.

“Converts,” Alex explained “think about it; a plague suddenly strikes the city, dozens of hundreds of thousands of people getting sick and then here comes this new religion, they offer you a cure, you sign up, and suddenly, you’re cured”

“That seems pretty weak, Alex,” Jaime noted “I mean why go through all that trouble just to get some new converts?”

“Supergirl,” Astra nodded along with Alex “they’re not just trying to get new converts; they’re trying to turn people against Supergirl and, by extension, aliens in general”

“But why couldn’t they just use Myriad for that?” Kara asked.

“Now, that, I don’t know” Alex admitted.

Astra leaned back in her seat, nodding slowly.

“ _But…,_ ” she began slowly “they could use Myriad to prevent anyone from trying to regain control of the city, somebody…like Superman”

“Superman?” Kara asked.

Astra nodded.

“He was raised by Humans,” she explained “he thinks of himself _as_ Human. It stands to reason that he could be affected by Myriad as well; mind over matter”

“But why not just set Myriad off in Metropolis?” Kara wondered “why here in National City?”

“They’re probably testing it” Alex suggested.

“That, and the signal was encoded onto satellites serving National City,” Astra nodded “it would be easier than trying to redirect the signal onto Metropolis, plus going for Metropolis directly is too obvious; the city _does_ have a rather unfortunate habit of being assaulted every other week”

“And, if the military took notice of what was happening in National City, they’d focus on and probably ignore Metropolis” Alex nodded.

Astra nodded.

“Exactly”

“We’ve got to get to the DEO,” Alex declared “get Lucy and Winn out of there”

“Let’s go” Kara nodded…

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought :=)


End file.
